It is desired to bring color to the skin, e.g. to make it more uniform, and also to look good, to provide coloring that is cheerful, to increase contrast with other colors of the body or clothing, or to match the colors of the face with those of the lips, for example.
The skin may also be made up to reduce the impression of face volume, or on the contrary to increase it. It is known that adding certain colors, if suitably placed on the face, can create impressions of volume. To be effective, these effects require makeup to be applied well, both concerning the choice of colors and where they are placed.
Colors may also be applied on a foundation, e.g. to limit the flat effect and recreate an appearance that is more natural.
In makeup routines, it is common practice to use powders of fluids to apply these touches of color, e.g. to the cheeks, around the eyes, or on other locations of the body or the face.
It is not easy to apply colored material without leaving a line of demarcation with the region that has not been made up. However it is often desired to avoid any such demarcation being visible.
For example, achieving a “rosy cheeks” type effect is difficult since it is necessary to apply the touch of color in delicate manner if no lines of demarcation are to be seen.
The difficulty is associated with the way in which colored compositions are applied and the way colors are chosen so that the edges of the colored area are identical in color to the color of the skin. It is also necessary for color within the colored area to vary gradually.
Thus, it is not appropriate merely to apply a mark of “red” color in the middle of the cheek. It is necessary for the color to be shaded off so that it tends towards the color of the skin at the edges of the colored area.
Brushes are quite effective since, when the user knows how to handle them, they enable the visibility of edges to be reduced. With a brush, pressure determines the quantity of powder that is delivered. Since the cheeks are sensitive to pressure from the bristles of the brush, the user can monitor pressure and cause application to be marked in the center of the cheek and to become lighter on going away from the center. This creates an effect that is shaded off, if not in terms of color, then at least in terms of intensity.
Use of a brush, although advantageous in that it makes it possible to apply compositions subtly, is nevertheless restricted since it works only with powders. As a result the color is not firmly secured to the skin. Furthermore, using a brush does not prevent blotches or traces of excess color forming, and thus often requires retouching to be performed. In addition, the brushes used tend to be rather large, which does not make it easy to produce specific patterns.
Attempts have been made to find new ways of applying makeup powders or fluids, in particular by using electrostatic sprays. Like an airbrush, an electrostatic spray delivers a jet of fluid that becomes deposited on the skin. By varying the distance between the appliance and the skin, it is possible to adjust the intensity with which the skin is covered by the composition and thereby limit the visibility of lines of demarcation. Nevertheless, the results are somewhat disappointing since the user cannot see accurately how far the appliance is from the skin.
Makeup specialists can obtain results of high quality and those results can transform the beauty of a face, however that requires long makeup sessions and professional know-how. For a woman making herself up in the bathroom, circumstances are generally unsuitable for such work. It can thus be seen that women are thus not able to take best advantage of the techniques available for improving their looks.
Consequently there exists a need to benefit from methods and apparatuses making it easy to apply color in a manner that is satisfactory in terms of appearance.
Publication WO 2007/022095 A1 discloses a method of applying makeup in which an agent that modifies the reflectance of the skin is applied to the skin by using ink jet printer technology. In one embodiment, the device includes a scanner and an ink jet printer, and in a single pass over the skin it analyses the skin, identifies unattractive characteristics, calculates the improvements to be made, and applies the agent that modifies reflectance so as to obtain those improvements. For example, the device can give a softer appearance to the skin by identifying pale and dark points and by applying the reflectance-modifying agent so as to darken pale points using a predefined averaging technique. The device may include means for recognizing the treated zone, e.g. the cheek bone or the cheek so that the improvements made are specific to the zone being treated, e.g. making cheeks look rosy so as to give the appearance of a person in better health, or darkening zones under the cheek bones so as to make them less prominent. A colorant may be deposited on certain portions of the skin to make it more uniform and markers that fluoresce under ultraviolet illumination may be used to make it easier to recognize certain regions during treatment. In an example seeking to simulate tanning, an agent that modifies the spectral characteristics of the skin is applied so as to reduce contrast between pale and dark zones, darkening zones of the skin in selective manner, while causing certain details of the skin to disappear. In another element, pale zones around wrinkles are darkened but the hollow zones within wrinkles are not modified.
Publication WO 2004/090629 A2 discloses a method of printing on the skin.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,543,893 describes an ink jet printer suitable for being moved manually over the skin. The printer may have a screen for displaying images that are to be printed and a device that enables the image to be personalized, e.g. by adding text or other information. U.S. Pat. No. 6,622,733 describes an applicator having an ink jet printer head.
Application US 2006/0098076 discloses a system for ink jet printing on the skin that includes means for positioning the face. The printer system is suitable for printing hairs on the eyebrows or for printing color on the cheeks for blending in with a brush.
Application WO 02/01499 A2 describes a method of applying makeup by means of a movable applicator head supported by an arm that is articulated so as to follow the three-dimensional shape of the zone being made up. The three-dimensional shape is acquired with the help of one or more cameras. A design selected by the user can be printed using an ink jet. The printing may serve to cover a pigment mark with the same color as the surrounding skin, after performing colorimetric analysis thereon.
Application DE 10153249 A1 describes a method of applying compositions on the skin by means of an ink jet printing technique. Printing may be performed using a handpiece held by the user. In a variant, the print head may move relative to the skin by moving a belt or a carriage on a rail that is itself movable on two slideways at its ends.
Publication JP 2006-297691 discloses a printer system for printing an image on the skin, the system being fitted with means that enable the color of the skin to be measured. The printer system takes account of the color of the skin in the image that is to be reproduced, the print head being provided with a photodetector. For example, for a dark skin, the quantity of ink is increased. In a variant, not only is the lightness of the skin taken into consideration but also its color when calculating the image for printing.
Publication GB 2 343 657 describes a portable ink jet printer suitable for printing a mark authorizing entry to a concert or a discotheque on the forearm or the hand of a person. The ink that is deposited may be visible, fluorescent, magnetic, phosphorescent, or photochromic.
Application WO 02/00189 A1 describes a method of applying a colored composition on the skin in which it is possible to select a blemish on an image of the zone for treatment, which image is obtained by means of a camera that also measures color. Image modification software makes it possible to correct a blemish in the zone for treatment, e.g. a depigmented zone, by outlining the zone with the help of a computer mouse and then printing on the corrected zone the color of the surrounding zone.
Publication WO 03/033270 discloses an ink jet printer that can be positioned manually on the skin in order to print a tattoo.
Publication US 2007/0114305 describes an electrostatic spray device for making up the skin.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,290,550 discloses an installation capable of printing on the skin, in particular on the skin of the face.
Numerous appliances are also known for printing on the nails, e.g. from U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,931,166 and 6,035,860.